Always My Baby
by Yoko Black
Summary: Snippets of three of our favorite Dark-Hunter heroines. Song: Always My Baby by Sarah Evans COMPLETE


Title: Always My Baby

Rating: T

Summary: Snippets of three of our favorite Dark-Hunter heroines. Song: Always My Baby by Sarah Evans

Disclaimer: I don't own song, characters, or book. I don't make money from this story.

ALWAYS BE MY BABY

_There I was ten years old, waiting in my room for him to come home. I just knew he'd be so mad. Though I begged my mother not to, she told my dad. There was no denying I'd let him down But instead of being angry He put his arms around me and said…. _

Tabitha sat on her bed swinging her feet above the floor. Her mother had already given her the lecture and now she had to hear it from her father. Her sisters had already given her their disappointed look, even Amanda who believed in her less. They used to be so close and it slowly started falling apart as Tabby pointed out all the stuff she hoped her sister could see, but of course Amanda denied it.

"Do you want people to treat use like we're freaks?" she asked. "Why do you so this? There are no such things as vampires and werewolves."

"There are, Mandy, why can't you see it?"

"Because they're not real, Tabitha! They never were!"

But Tabitha knew they were real, just as she knew she was right in her fight at school. Tabitha and Amanda may be identical twins but they are as different as night and day, Tabitha being the family rebel and Amanda the good girl. While the women in the Deveraux family believe in the supernatural and displayed some physic ability, Amanda was the only one that refused to believe she had anything special and took to text books instead of herbology and tarot reading.

The door opened and Tabitha looked up as Mr. Deveraux walked in.

"Tabby, why did you start that fight in school?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"He's a werewolf, Dad! He's a baby werewolf!"

Mr. Deveraux sighed. "Tabitha….." Tabitha stopped talking and looked up at her father. "Tabby, there are people and there are people. Not everything that walks is a werewolf, or a vampire or a zombie."

Tabitha laughed. "Vampires come out at night, Dad."

"Still, you are going to call up that boy and apologize to him. Do you understand me?"

Tabitha sighed. "Yes, Dad."

Tabitha didn't expect her father to be nice to her. She was always the black sheep of the family. While her older sisters got into mid-wifery or some other academic career Tabitha took kick boxing classes and karate for her destiny as a vampire hunter. Her mother called her exocentric, her sisters crazy but Tabitha knew that vampires existed, and she was going to fight every last one of them.

Mr. Deveraux walked over to Tabitha and sat on her bed, pulling her into a one armed hug. Tabitha leaned her head into her father's shoulder.

"Just remember, Tabby, no matter what anyone says, I'll always love you," he said.

Tabitha smiled up at him. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "And I don't care what anyone says. Stone Blakemore is a werewolf."

Mr. Deveraux laughed and hugged her. "That's my Tabby," he said.

_In the sunlight or the rain., Brightest nights or darkest days I'll always feel the same way. Whatever road you may be on know you're never too far gone. My love is there wherever you may be. Just remember that you'll always be my baby_

_There I was, twenty one. Oh, I was so ashamed of what I'd done. On a country road parked one night. What started out so innocent, crossed the line. There was no denying, I'd let God down. But instead of being angry He let His love surround me And I heard_

Aimee watched Trace run after Cujo as the dog trotted around the living room. It was a surprising sight to see since Cujo was once a vicious creature that would soon tear your arm off then let you touch him, yet here he was playing with the adorable two year old as natural as day.

And young Trace was just too cute, reminding her of Alex when he was a cub. The boy would run around chancing his cousin, pulling their little tail till one got fed up and gave him a warning nip. It looked like Trace was going to be the same way.

At the thought of her family Aimee froze and fought to keep the tears from flooding her eyes. It had only been two days since Mama Lo kicked her out of Sanctuary and she started living with Fang in Vane's and Bride's home. She almost felt like an intruder in the Lykos pack, being the only Ursulan in the house, but the words of welcome and helpful ways of accepting her made Aimee feel better about invading their home.

"Aunty Aimee!" Aimee snapped out of her reverie to see Trace standing in front of her with his arms out to her. "Up!"

She smiled. Now how could she deny that? Reaching down she picked up the young pup and held him close, smelling his baby scent. He didn't smell like a wolf pup. He smelled like baby powder and Cujo. And underneath all that was a scent that was distinctly Trace.

A hand on her shoulder jerked her out of her thoughts and she turned to see Fang next to her. He smiled down at her lovingly and gently ran a hand though Trace's hair. Trace laughed and held his hands out to his uncle. Fang picked Trace out of Aimee's hands and Aimee let go reluctantly. He kissed Trace's head before setting him down.

"Go annoy your uncle Fury for a bit," he said. Trace laughed and ran out of the room. Fang turned to Cujo. "You too, dog. Go on."

Cujo barked and ran out of the room after the toddler. Fang turned back to Aimee, sat next to her on the couch and wrapped her in a hug.

"I'm okay," she said.

"For now," he said. "Till you start thinking about your family again."

She shoved him. "Keep talking like that and I will."

"I'm sorry, Aimee. We've tried to change things and look how that got us."

Aimee sighed. "I know." She buried laid her head on Fang's shoulder and smelled his scent. Woodsy, masculine, and very not wolf. Aimee could tell Fang's thoughts were the same as her. They both blamed each other for the outcome at the Sanctuary. Both wished they didn't feel the way they did but they do, and there's no way to turn back now.

A sharp knock at the door made them look up in surprise. Bride walked out of the kitchen drying her hands.

"Don't you two move," she said. "I'll get it."

She disappeared to open the door. Both bear and wolf sharp hearing instantly knew who the visitor was. Aimee shot off the couch and looked at her father.

"Papa?"

Papa Bear smiled, walked in and pulled his only daughter in a hug. Aimee hugged him back and cried in his shoulder.

"Mamon….?"

"Sorry, mon enfant, but you know your mother."

Unfortunately, Aimee did know her mother. It would take a lot longer then three days for Mama Lo to forgive her own child.

"Then why are you here, Papa?" she asked.

"To let you know that no matter what, you'll always have place with me and your brothers. We actually understand why you did what you did."

"Really? Even Remi and Quinn?"

"Even Remi and Quinn. Bastian and Gilbert would be so proud of you." He glared over at Fang. Aimee knew he was letting the bear make a small appearance, which was a rare thing for him. "You take care of her, you hear. If any harm comes to her…."

"I know where to go," said Fang wrapping a loving arm around her.

Aimee let out a sob and hugged her father. Papa Bear hugged her back as Fang stood off to the side.

_In the sunlight or the rain. Brightest nights or darkest days, I'll always feel the same way. Whatever road you may be on know you're never too far gone. My love is there, wherever you may be. Just remember that you'll always be my baby_

_There he is, my little man. I'm sure he'll get in trouble every now and then. And I pray to God that when he does I'll be just as understanding, as my father was. 'Cause the last thing that I wanna do is let him down. So instead of being angry I'm gonna throw my arms around him and I'll say…._

Bride smiled as she looked down at Trace sleeping. He clutched his favorite wolf doll close. He could never get to sleep without it. Vane was out dealing with Omegrian business and left Bride at home with Keegan to watch over them. Vane was paranoid about his family's safety, this Bride knew, and she loved that her husband was always thinking about them first before anything else.

She also knew he would never just have anyone watch over them. Only his most trusted would watch after his family, and who better then Keegan.

"Bride?" Bride turned to Keegan who softly walked up to her to not wake Trace up. "I'm going to turn in. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine, Keegan, thank you," she said.

"If you need something, just howl," he said and walked to his room. He closed his door softly to not wake Trace and Bride smiled at him in appreciation. Out of all the Were-Hunters she had met Keegan was one of the most polite of the bunch.

Vane had a temper that he let loose more then once, but never at her or Trace. Fury and Fang she knew had the same temper but that was because, like Vane, they were fiercely loyal to their family. They may nip at each other but they were wolves by nature, no matter if they were human hearted or animal, which meant family came first.

She turned back to Trace. Already at such a young age he looked so much like Vane. With his dark hair that shone different colors and his blue eyes that didn't miss anything. Even asleep he had the same peaceful look as Vane did. Fury had told her in confidence that Vane never had a peaceful night sleep till he met Bride, always too scared that someone would walk in on him in his base form and find out he was Arcadian and not Katagaria. Bride vowed then and there that as long as she lived Vane would have a night's sleep without fear of harm.

The same vow she made the day Trace was born.

A whimper made Bride look over at Trace and she walked over to his small bed. He opened his eyes as Bride knelt next to his bed.

"Daddy back?" he asked and Bride shook his head.

"No, sorry, baby," she said. "Daddy had to go and stop bad guys."

"Uncle Fury and Fang with him?"

"Yeah, but they wish they were here with you, you know."

"Yeah," said Trace and he held his hands up to his mother. Bride picked him up and settled in the rocking chair.

"Did you have a bad dream?" she asked as she rocked him.

"Yeah. Daddy gone. You gone. Everyone gone, leave me all alone." Trace started to cry and Bride smoothed his hair with a kiss.

"You know that's not true," she said. "Your daddy, and I and your uncles will never leave you alone. We love you so much."

"Really?" asked Trace. "How much you love me, Mommy."

"I love you this much." She held up one hand with her pointer finger and her thumb pressing against each other. "Because that's how much that will come between us. Nothing."

"You know how much I love you, Mommy?"

"How much, Baby?"

"This much!" And Trace gave her a hug. Bride laughed and hugged him back.

_In the sunlight or the rain. Brightest nights or darkest days I'll always feel the same way. Whatever road you may be on Know your never to far gone. My love is there, wherever you may be. Just remember that you'll always be my baby_

THE END

I love all the heroines of Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Dark Hunter" series but these three are especially my favorites because of how they never gave up on their dreams of a life they wanted with the ones they love.


End file.
